Tag: PUBG

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has officially launched on Steam. After shutting down servers to deal with a crashing issue, the game can finally be played. PUBG players that had to wait due to the bug that left them unable to play for many hours will find a reward waiting for them when they log into the game.

Who Doesn’t Love Free Stuff?

Over the next few weeks, players will receive a free in-game Winner Winner Chicken Dinner t-shirt, which is dropped into their inventory upon the first log in. The PUBG 1.0 release comes with a variety of new bug fixes that address balance and stability issues. Bluehole stated that previous adjustments had reduced stability issues but the latest round of improvements should help make the game more stable over time.

Bluehole also said it’s putting more time into cheat prevention measures. This comes after it already introduced improvements that saw a 66% drop in the number of players using cheats.

PUBG 1.0 also brings a few new mechanics to the main game, including climbing and vaulting, which the game’s creator says “will change the game severely.” The new release also features an official launch for the desert map called Miramar, which was recently only available to try on PUBG’s test servers. Lucky players can find new types of obstacles, weapons, and vehicles on Miramar that will affect how you get that chicken dinner.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds first released to Steam Early Access nine months ago and has taken the industry by storm. The Gigamax crew has been enjoying the game’s launch on Xbox One which came out earlier this month. PUBG is available for $30 via the Xbox Game Preview program and managed to gain over 1 million players in its first 48 hours on the console. That version received its first patch earlier this week, which helped fix a multitude of bugs that players were experiencing. If you’d like to see the full list of patch notes for the 1.0 version of the game you can find them on the STEAM blog.

PUBG Making A Global Impact

The world has been rocked by the emergence of PUBG. It took the Battle Royale game mode and threw it right in the face of the public. People were ecstatic and couldn’t get enough, it was nearly an overnight hit. Climbing to the tops of the Steam charts and selling more than 20 million copies worldwide it has attracted international attention. Clones, ripoffs, and games embracing the Battle Royale style have been popping up all over the place trying to jump on the hype-train.

PUBG Going Mobile

Back in September reports came in that Tencent, a Chinese game publisher that through a series of acquisitions own Clash of Clans and League of Legends has a 5% stake in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer, Bluehole, and hopes of owning more of the company in the future. Now, Tencent announced they won exclusive rights to develop a mobile version of PUBG for the Chinese market.

The powerful game publisher will be working with Bluehole to seamlessly port the PC hit to smartphones for Chinese audiences. They are reluctant to release any definitive details on how they plan on replicating the massive experience for mobile platforms but they did say they are making “very good progress”. As of now, it is unclear whether or not the mobile version of the game will make it to people outside of China. Tencent also had these interesting few words to say about the slightly altered version, they will ensure PUBG reflects “socialist core values, Chinese traditional culture and moral rules.” whatever that means.

Call of Duty Embraces Battle Royale Trend

More news has come from China surrounding the Battle Royale Game Mode. Call of Duty Online is exclusive to China and testing out a similar game type to the ever popular PUBG. The new ‘survival mode’ will be fully released by Tencent in December where 18 players are pitted against each other and fight until one person is left standing. Players will spawn unarmed, scavenge for weapons and fight to the death. As with the PUBG mobile port, there’s no word if or when this game mode will be making it to Call of Duty games in the west. Bringing it beyond China could ride on its popularity with Call of Duty Online but the world will have to wait and see.

Battle Royale Game Mode Rocks The World

The gaming community’s tastes change and Bluehole released their game at the right time on the right medium, PC. Now coming to Xbox One in December which will be exclusive on Microsoft’s console for a year then later to PlayStation, Bluehole and their game is taking over the world and not too many people are upset about it. Now with Tencent working on bringing it to the largest console in the world, smartphones, to the country with the largest population, PUBG will only continue to expand. It will be absolutely fascinating to see how this gaming phenomenon will progress and what the future will hold.

Very Early Impressions: The Darwin Project

After spending a long chilly night with The Darwin Project, we’ve determined that the future for this new indie survival experience look bright, but there is obviously much work is left to be done. Scavengers Studio was kind enough to send us an Alpha key for their upcoming Battle Royale style game and the small team of 17 has pulled off quite an impressive feat. They have managed to build an original experience in a genre that seemed doomed to 100 player rounds on massive islands. This was achieved through focusing on the survival and crafting features that are often times ignored in this style of game. Could The Darwin Project be the title that steers the genre in a new direction?

Let’s Take A Closer Look

From the start, this game is a much more contained experience. Seven competitors enter the ring to fight for their lives in a very “Hunger Games” like situation. Much like PUBG and Fortnite, players are dropped into a lobby that allows those participating some time to converse and get a feel for the competition while also given full freedom to hit each other with axes and arrows. After the countdown is up those competing are dropped into a ring that is made up of seven hexagons each representing a zone. Players are spawned in on their own portion of the map (hexagon) and the games begin. Right off the bat players will realize that to survive the harsh frozen climate, they will need a fire. This is where The Darwin Project distinguishes itself from the main players in the genre.

It’s All About Survival

Survival is at the forefront of this experience and if ignored, you can never hope to see the end of a match. As of now, chopping down wood and tearing apart leather sofas is the primary means of collecting resources. These actions result in materials that can be fashioned into a variety of tools that can be used to get ahead of the competition. Craftables include axe/bow upgrades, jackets to prevent freezing to death, speed improvements, and a variety of “tech” that needs the elusive electronic resources. These bizarre future upgrades can be made by collecting a piece of technology that randomly spawns around the map at various times throughout the match. The only catch to this is players are all made aware of the spawn location turning the hunt into a race, for this game-changing resource. Some examples of tools that can be fashioned out of this equipment are turrets, over shields, and teleporters.

Currently, the survival aspect is very fun but needs to be fleshed out more and while the combat can be exciting it feels a little too quick and sporadic for the slow and steady nature of the hunting and gathering you do before engaging an opponent. Luckily survival isn’t all that sets this game apart.

Show Director Mode

The other major way Scavengers Studio is making The Darwin Project its own idea is through the game’s “Show Director Mode.” The eighth player is not a competitor on the battlefield, but instead a robot that can fly around the arena and cause havoc for the fighters. Some examples of their powers include swapping players positions or dropping bombs that disrupt the action from time to time. Overall, it is a nice twist that is still in its early stages but has a lot of potentials to truly set the game apart and maybe create a new sub-genre.

While The Darwin Project may still be very early in development, its Alpha seemed more fleshed out than most Betas that are released today. The graphics style is original and gameplay has plenty of room to become something great. This indie game has tons of potential and we can’t wait to see how the talented team at Scavengers Studio refines their experience, especially when the Battle Royale genre has grown so stagnant. Gameplay footage Gigamax recorded will be available soon so be sure to keep your eye on GigamaxGames.com for more information on The Darwin Project!

Fortnite: New Twist or Blatant Ripoff?

Video games are constantly evolving. A lot of the time, developers take successful ideas from other games and change it up a bit to make an entirely new title. However, sometimes, a game can be a little too similar to the original title which they took their ideas from. This has been the discussion surrounding Fortnite Battle Royale and PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds.

Let’s take a look at the similarities between the two games and how they differ. It’s an interesting list and one that might lead to more questions than answers.

Similarities:

1) 100 person deathmatch and the last one standing is the winner.

2) Squad mode, where players can team up to compete against other squads and the last group standing, wins.

3) Both of the games begin in ‘lobby island’ where all 100 players can run around, shoot guns, and scream loud into the mic.

4) Once the game officially starts, players are flown toward an island and can choose when to jump out of the aircraft.

5) After players jump out of the aircraft, they skydive down to their desired location and eventually float down and land gently.

6) Both only have one map as of now and bear striking similarities.

7) Players start unarmed and must scavenge around the map looking for weapons, ammo, and protective items.

8) The map begins to shrink because of an outside force which continues to close in on the players as the game goes on, forcing them into each other.

Differences:

1) Cartoony graphics give Fortnite a different feel from the more gritty, realistic PUBG.

2) Fortnite has no prone, changing the stealth aspect when compared to PUBG.

3) Players jump out of a floating bus instead of a plane as in PUBG.

4) Gamers cannot find armor around the map in Fortnite, instead, they pick up ‘Shield Potions’.

5) Fortnite offers no attachments for the guns like in PUBG, what you see is what you get.

6) PUBG has first person servers and an option to aim down the iron sites. Fortnite is stuck in 3rd person.

7) The feature that separates Fortnite the most from PUBG is the building aspect. Players can collect materials from around the map and build forts and cover. This is the key feature that has the most dramatic effect when it comes to the differences of Fortnite from PUBG.

Final Thoughts and Your Input

Just from looking at the lists above, it’s clear that there are more similarities than differences. Most of the differences are even just splitting hairs, like not being able to go prone. However, these unique aspects from Fortnite do add some interesting dynamics which PUBG cannot provide. Still, PUBG seems as though it’s the superior shooter but this is not to say Fortnite doesn’t deliver a quality gaming experience.

The question remains, is Fortnite walking a very fine line between blatant ripoff and unique interpretation? Or did the Fortnite developers, Epic Games, simply steal an innovative idea and implement their mechanics on top of PUBG?

With PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer, Bluehole, releasing a statement on September 22nd explaining that they felt Fortnite copied their game and might pursue legal action, the world may soon find out.

What do you think? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, we want to see how gamers feel about this complicated situation.

PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS YouTube Playlist

It’s finally happened, Mack and Gigs have taken that dive into the wonderful world of PC gaming, better known as the PC master race. To commemorate this joyous the goal now is to see “Winner Winner Chicken Dinner” in PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS. Gigamax Games takes a look at the First Person servers and more episodes are sure to come soon.

PUBG is an amazing experience overall, filled with tense moments and a lot of spinning in circles. This homage to Battle Royale is the new hit experience for any PC gamer. The incredibly expansive map is just the first of more to come as PUBG is still in its very first stages of development and release.

Don’t forget to click that subscribe button for more videos of the latest games we promise to have more PC content in the future. This is only the beginning of a giant world of possibilities.

PUBG’s Update Hit A Snag

Bluehole had some upsetting news for fans of PUBG as the highly anticipated Public Test Server update was put on hold. According to the developer, “the test server build is not stable enough to roll out.”(http://bit.ly/2u2wodh). The patch they have lined up is a substantial one, including new weapons, skins, and a car horn. Due to complications with a client crash bug, the July monthly update will now be moved to the 3rd of August.

See what’s waiting for players in the next big patch and find a preview of just how big PUBG is becoming.

What You Can Expect

Honk Honk!

One of the additions to the patch which made people lose their minds is the addition of a horn. Drivers can now honk their horns which will default to the left mouse button. Tweet after Tweet, people expressed their approval as though this filled a serious void within the battleground.

The New Boom Stick

Get ready for a new weapon, the Mark 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle. The Mk14 EBR, chambered in 7.62 will accept all sniper attachments and have a selective fire option, too. This means players can either use it to sweep a room or pick off enemies at a distance. It will be exclusive to crates, so expect this new gun to be falling out of the sky August 3rd.

A New Look

Ready for a makeover? PUBG’s monthly update will include its first new face presets and new hairstyles. These will come at a cost and are expected to be priced at 3,000 in-game currency.

Time To Get Hardcore

First-Person Only servers will be one of the most impressive game changing updates that have come to PUBG. Creating a more hardcore shooter experience, players will have the option to choose between standard and first-person only servers. This means looking around corners or over cover will expose a player instead of them having the ability to just move around the camera.

This option will cater to the more hardcore crowd but could also be a nice change of pace for casual players. It will be important to keep in mind the lean buttons (defaulted to Q and E) which will greatly increase a players chance of survival.

The Usual

Bluehole will, of course, be sticking to their regular maintenance with the latest patch. A few UI changes, user experience update, and server stability will be included. For a more detailed look at the subtle changes, take a look at Blueholes official announcement.

PUBG Just Keeps On Growing

PUBG just hit a major milestone. Selling over 6 million copies according to Bluehole and the game also reached a new concurrent peak personal record of 481,291. This substantial growth has put PUBG ahead of Fallout 4 in the Steam charts. Indie games continue to surpass all expectations. With games like PUBG making headlines and breaking records, there’s no telling what the future has in store for indie developers and their artwork.

Be sure to check back at GigamaxGames.com for the latest updates surrounding PC and console gaming and the video’s you want to see! Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.